Tour de Fleece 2018

Over on the Ravelry group we're getting ready for this years Tour de Fleece. It's always the highlight of my spinning year, and last year we had a really lovely atmosphere in the team thread, with lots of spinning and plenty of helpful advice.
This year we'll be doing it all again, with the added bonus of a Team swap.  As ever the team fibre is completely optional, and your can spin from stars and still join in. 

Now this isn't going to work like a traditional swap, I'm setting it up so that you are guaranteed to get your parcel, and in a way you'll know what it contains.... are you intrigued?

The bike wheel is filled with a  collection of 12 colours. I've selected them off the Tour de France website to represent this years race. 
Wether it's the bright red peppers found in the host town of Stage 21, the beautiful buildings in Saint-Paul-Trois Chateaux , the mountain lakes in the Alpe d'Huez, or just the general beauty of the French countryside in July. 

These colours are all going to be available in the 70% Superfine Merino &  30% Tussah Silk. 

Thos who decide to go for the swap option will  buy 100g in 2 different colours. 

However, those 2 colours won’t be the only colours you receive. When I pack the orders I will send you 50g of your 2 colours, and 50g of the 2 colours from the order of the team member before you.
So…

• Ann orders a Tour de Fleece bundle of 100g of fibre. She selects 2 colours; Tournesol and Été.
• Mary orders a Tour de Fleece bundle of 100g of fibre. She selects 2 colours La Ferme and Arbre. Mary will be sent 25g of La Ferme, 25g of Arbre. She’ll also get 25g each of the 2 colours from the order that Ann placed (Tournesol and Été.).
• Shirley orders a Tour de Fleece bundle of 100g of fibre. She selects La Pneu and Arbre Shirley will be sent 25g of La Pneu, 25g of Arbre. She’ll also get 25g each of the 2 colours from the order that Mary placed (La Ferme and Arbre)
• Finally, what about poor Ann who placed the first order? She’ll be matched up to the final order in the group to complete the circular swap. So in this small scale scenario she’ll be sent 25g of Tournesol, 25g of Été, and will get 25g each of the 2 colours that Shirley ordered (La Pneu and Arbre).

Alongside this is a hand dyed option that will co-ordinate with the commercially dyed palette.
In your parcel will be a little note saying who contributed your mystery colours (just containing the Ravelry username, it’s then up to you how much you choose to share)

I've spent a few days messing around with samples of the colours, and there are so many options that work together really nicely, so it should be a great way to expand your colour palette, but still end up with colours that you like. 

The colourways have all had special Tour names given to them, but the captions above tells you the regular names that they'll revert to after the Tour. 
To co-ordinate with the Merino & Silk I'm also dyeing 2 special Tour colourways on Rambouillet. This French breed has a rather nice link to the tour, and is also soft enough to work with the Superfine Merino.

If you'd like to order some fibre, then head to the Ravelry group, and follow the instructions...
And of course, the Team fibre is completely optional, you're very welcome to join the Team in July and spin from stash! 

How to Order....

Again this year I'll be making a charitable contribution for the Team fibre. For every bundle of swap fibre I'll be donating 50p, and for every 100g of the accompanying dyed Rambouillet.
The charity I've chosen to support is Qhubeka, an African based charity who provide bikes to people in rural communities. This lets children go to school more easily, people transport their goods to market, and allows healthcare workers to reach vulnerable communities. To provide a bike through the charity costs £160. 

• More than 80,000 bikes have been distributed by Qhubeka since 2005
• A child’s commute time to school is reduced by up to 75% with a bicycle
• A bicycle increases a person’s carrying capacity by five times
• Healthcare workers can visit more than double the amount of patients per day with a bicycle
• Marks improve by an average of 25% for children who ride a bicycle to school
• Schools where children ride bicycles see attendance rates rise by 18% on average

If you want to match my donation, then you can do so here.